Film Review: We're The Millers

A lot of it is very conventional, but it doesn't mean however, that We're The Millers isn't enjoyable.

If you've ever had to misfortune of seeing the 2006 Robin Williams comedy RV, you'd probably be hard pressed to sit down and watch We're The Millers. On the surface, they're near identical movies- a man trying to sort through the dysfunctional lives of his family members as they take a trip in a motor home. The difference being, that while RV was traditional, straight laced family humour, We're The Millers is traditional, gross out toilet comedy akin to what has become the norm thanks to The Hangover and their kind.

Instead of a real family trying to sort out their difference, We're The Millers sees Jason Sudeikis as low level drug dealer David Clark, stuck with no option but to be a drug mule for corporate douchebag (and hilarious orca owner) Brad Gurdlinger (played by Ed Helms). Concocting the ham fisted plan of putting together a fake family to transport the drugs in an RV as to not raise border patrol suspicions, he creates The Millers. His fake family includes a stripper (the phenomenally in-shape Jennifer Aniston), a runaway (Emma Roberts), and a goofy virgin (a really funny Will Poulter). When the Millers realize the amount of weed they are transporting across the border far exceed their expectation (“a smidge and a half” as Gurdlinger puts it), they are thrust into gag after gag of some pretty hilarious stuff.

The film's crass approach and adult humour works well because the story is incredible simple. What RV lacked was any sort of edge, and with Sudeikis and Helms well versed in the kind of profanity-laced comedy, much of We're The Millers comes across as contemporarily enjoyable. Much of the added laughs come from the great supporting turns by Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn (playing fellow RVers the Millers encounter on their adventures), who add their brightly coloured palette of humour to the mix.

Through all the crude jokes, there is a touch of heart to the film, and as expected, the Millers are taught some valuable family lessons as the film concludes. It never quite reaches the offensive enlightenment we get with the original Hangover, and a lot of it is very conventional, but it doesn't mean however, that the film isn't enjoyable. The cast is extremely likeable and while much of it isn't too surprising, there actually is more to the film than a sexy, underwear-clad Jennifer Aniston stripping underneath a literal shower of sparks. That part is nice however.

We're The Millers is in cinemas nationwide.

WE'RE THE MILLERS
Directed by: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Written by: Bob Fisher, Steve Faber
Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Ed Helms, Will Poulter
Released by: Warner Bros.